On March 4, 2013, at approximately 9 a.m., plaintiff Janice Carlson, 74, a retired administrative assistant, was across the street from Petco Park, walking from her hotel to breakfast in San Diego, when she tripped and fell on a raised portion of sidewalk. She claimed to her right elbow and two front, upper teeth. Carlson sued the owner of the subject sidewalk, the city of San Diego; the owner of an adjacent parking lot, Ballpark Village LLC; and a landscaping contractor with the city of San Diego, Shoreline Land Care Inc., doing business as Landcare Logic. Carlson alleged that the defendants were negligent in the maintenance of the area around the subject sidewalk, creating a dangerous condition of public property. She alleged that Ballpark Village was liable under the Streets and Highway Code and that Shoreline was liable for sanitation and vegetation maintenance in the subject area and was required, by its contract with the city, to inspect and report damage to the sidewalk in question. The city and Ballpark Village ultimately agreed to a $300,000 combined settlement with Carlson. Thus, the matter proceeded to trial against Shoreline only. The plaintiff’s expert arborist testified that tree roots that had grown 1/8 of an inch per year, over 8 to 10 years, uplifted the subject sidewalk and caused a tripping hazard. Plaintiff’s counsel argued that Shoreline failed to properly conduct periodic inspections of the sidewalk, looking for damage or cutting tree roots that were uplifting the sidewalk. Counsel also argued that Shoreline failed to report the uplifted sidewalk as a dangerous condition to Ballpark Village administrators at Petco Park for the city of San Diego, pursuant to its contract with the city. The plaintiff’s accident reconstruction expert testified that the uplifted sidewalk caused Carlson to trip and fall and that it was reasonable for Carlson to have not seen the raised portion of the sidewalk when approaching it. In addition, Carlson’s daughter, Becky Hames, and an independent eyewitness, William Lietzow, corroborated Carlson’s account of the incident. Shoreline disputed liability, claiming that it had no notice of the raised portion of the sidewalk. It claimed that hundreds of thousands of people walked in the same area without incident in the year preceding the subject incident (approximately 1.9 million people attended Petco Park in 2012) and that no tripping hazard existed. Shoreline also claimed that Petco Park administrators were aware of the raised sidewalk edge prior to the incident, so there was no need for Shoreline to report something already known. It further claimed that Carlson was negligent in not watching where she was walking and in not picking up her feet. Shoreline’s counsel argued that the plaintiff’s expert arborist lacked credibility, and provided speculative testimony about how and when tree roots uplifted the subject sidewalk. Counsel also argued that the plaintiff’s accident reconstruction expert testified that the tripping accident could occur with a 1/4-inch raised edge, but that such a raised edge does not constitute a dangerous condition of public property. In addition, Shoreline’s counsel argued that Carlson did not know how she tripped, nor did Carlson’s experts., Carlson sustained a fracture of the right, dominant elbow and two chipped front teeth. She was subsequently taken by ambulance to an emergency room. Carlson ultimately received white composite bonding to treat her chipped teeth. On March 15, 2013, she underwent open reduction and internal fixation surgery with the insertion of a plate and screws in her right elbow. Carlson later underwent surgery to remove the hardware on Jan. 28, 2014. In addition, she received physical therapy after each surgery. Carlson claimed she still experiences daily pain and a limitation in her right elbow’s range of motion, in that she cannot straighten her elbow fully. She alleged her condition has made it difficult to dress, stand up from a chair or car, and perform other activities involving her right arm. Thus, Carlson claimed $78,301 in stipulated past medical costs, and sought recovery of $780,301 in general damages. Shoreline’s counsel contended that Carlson made an excellent recovery from her and that Carlson was no longer limited to any significant degree.